


You Should Have Seen It

by debwalsh



Series: Deb’s Fictober Surprise! [17]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Blasts from the Past, Established Relationship, Film Preservation, Fluff, I seriously don’t know how to tag this, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 08:00:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16384286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debwalsh/pseuds/debwalsh
Summary: An unexpected blast from Steve and Bucky’s past could have a major impact on their present and future.





	You Should Have Seen It

**Author's Note:**

> This was not the story I meant to write. I like this better.

“Omigod, you should have seen it!”

“I mean, Dad talked about it. Aunt Peggy, too. But they knew him as an adult before the serum. But you ... you knew Steve Prime!”

“Oh, he was prime, all right. Prime pissed off and ready to knock somebody’s lights out. Practically fit ‘im in your back pocket, if he didn’t fucking claw his way out.”  

“Sorry, I mean, we’ve all heard the stories, but ... it’s just ... my imagination just isn’t that good,” Clint chuckled, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Bruce shook his head, smiling fondly. “No, seriously - nobody’s is. Not even Disney could imagine it properly.”

Tony blurted out, “Well, that’s not what I heard.”

Cliff scoffed. “Disney did a flick of him? I got kids, I know every Disney movie backward and forward. There ain’t no Captain America Disney film.”

“Not Cap. Steve Rogers. The Schoolyard Captain. Old Walt did the key art himself. We’re Going to the Future, too.”

“Walt Disney drew us? Seriously?”

“Wait, I’ve never heard of these films. Laura’s got every book ever done on Disney animation. There’s no mention of any films about Cap -”

“Cap and Barnes.”

“Sorry, I call bullshit,” Bruce chuckled as he jabbed his finger at Tony.

Clint nodded. “Yeah, you’d figure they’d be big hits on Netflix these days. Especially after Cap came out of the ice. Hell, they would’ve been part of the Smithsonian exhibit.”

Tony was looking uncomfortable, maybe regretting his decision to spill the beans over these apocryphal Disney films. “Neither have been seen in a long time.”

Bucky had a suspicion, and now he couldn’t let go. “How come?”

“They were pulled during the initial release.”

Clint practically squealed. “Ooooh, a mystery. Do tell.”

Bucky was the first to notice Tony’s growing discomfort, and now he saw uncharacteristic hesitation. “Tony. What happened? Why were the films pulled?”

“It was a matter of timing,” Tony said quietly, and now everyone in the room had noticed, all attention focused on the solemn cast of his face, the quiet regret.

A cold chill spread through Bucky then, the chill of the forest floor, the chill of snow stained red with his blood, the chill of life seeping from his body.

“I fell from the train.”

“And your family petitioned Disney to pull the films. Normally they probably would have ignored the request, but your mother ... she forwarded the telegram to Walt himself. And not long after, the Valkyrie was lost.”

“How’d you ever hear of them?” Clint asked seriously.

“Dad had copies of the films. Howard owned a piece of Disney, part of his investment in Hollywood. He sold his shares back to Walt for the reels.”

“So you’ve seen them? Both of them?” Bucky asked, feeling a rising sense of urgency.

“Bit of one. The end of the other - Dad loved to show off the scene with the flying car.”

“Flying failure. Damned thing practically exploded.”

“The way Dad liked to tell the story, the only reason that car didn’t go into production was the materials were needed for the war effort.”

“War effort my ass. So ... do you still have them? The reels?”

Tony looked at Bucky then with an odd sort of relief. Like he hadn’t really screwed everyone up by mentioning films no one had heard of but might be full of triggers and pain for Bucky.

“Probably. In one of the storage facilities Dad left behind. I can start a search for them, but there’s no telling what condition the celluloid’s in. It’s been -“

“73 years. Bad luck for Disney to release ‘em the same time we tried to take down Hydra.”

“Apparently they were the most anticipated films of the year, got released as a double feature, played for a week, and then the telegram hit Walt’s desk. The next day, all copies of the films were collected from movie houses across the country. All the promotional material, too.”

“Oh, tell me you got a copy of the poster with scrawny Steve’s mug on it.”

“I think Dad had a full set. Probably with the reels.”

“Would JARVIS know?”

“J?”

“I have searched Howard Stark’s inventory, and I have located what looks to be a related entry, sir.”

“And that would be?”

“Disneycap, sir.”

&&&  

It took a few days to unearth the cache of Cap Disneyana, but finally, the guys pulled out the metal reel cans and leather portfolio from the Stark archive in Beverly Hills. Tony was relieved it hadn’t been stored in the storage unit carved into the cliff in Malibu.

Considering how volatile and fragile film stock could be from that era, no one tried to open the cans, and they were careful not to jostle them too much.  

Tony had reminded the current day Disney management that while his father had bartered back his shares in exchange for the reels and memorabilia, Tony was a majority shareholder in today’s Disney family of companies, shares he’d bought in his twenties, when Disney was in their famous slump and before Eisner brought the company forward toward the new millennium. On learning that Tony owned a piece of Disney, Clint had looked up at him with such adoration and sheer greed, Tony had promised him and his family life passes to any Disney events he wanted. Clint had nearly passed out from joy, hugged Tony for a full 5.2 seconds before Tony shrugged him off, and raced off to tell Laura.

But Tony’s reminder to Disney had been tempered by the request for a film archivist to be on site when they recovered the reels, with instructions that the films were still off-limits for distribution, but any restoration that was necessary would be funded by him personally - not Stark Industries, but by Tony Stark himself.

They kept the find out of the press, and no one let on to Steve. Bucky wanted to screen the films before they told Steve. It was possible this would make one of the greatest film preservation stories of the century. It was also possible that Steve would want the films destroyed, which would be a great shame. Then again, he hadn’t gone after any of the truly heinous live action Cap films of the ‘50s, or any of his own gems from the ‘40s. And he didn’t blink a single lengthy eyelash over the porn series Tony had gleefully shown him one bourbon-soaked evening. So odds were, he would approve release of the films. If they could be salvaged.

&&&

About six months after the initial conversation back in Tony’s lab, the digital versions of the restored reels were provided for Bucky’s review.

He showed up in Tony’s lab the next morning with a big grin on his face.

“Seriously?” Tony asked excitedly.

Bucky nodded with enthusiasm.

“Omigod, Tower Film Night! JARVIS! Buy us a movie concession stand, air popper, the works. Oooooh, soda machines. Nachos! Those pretzel bite things. Ticket kiosk. I want it all. We are converting the 80th floor to a theatre, complete with ushers -“ Tony babbled to his AI as he hurried away, fully in the throes of his plans.

“Tell Steve about it yet?”

“Nah. Wanna see his reaction when he sees that his childhood hero turned him into a cartoon. Not big hero Steve, but little hero Steve. I plan to catch the entire thing for posterity,” he added, waggling his phone.

“This is gonna be fucking epic,” Clint murmured. “Hey, can I invite my kids, Laura?”

“Hell, yeah. Oooh, we gotta start working on the guest list - grab names, we’ll run it by Stark.”

“And Happy. No fun if he won’t let people through.”

“I got some family that’d want to see this. Becca and Alice’s kids and grandkids.”

“Somebody oughta talk to Pepper,” Bruce suggested.

“You sure you’re not gonna tell Steve?” Clint asked again.

“Surprise is better.”

&&&

By Saturday night, the entire 80th floor had been outfitted as a classic 1940s picture palace, with deep pile red carpeting, a full service concession stand backed by a working fountain with its own Cupid and big-mouthed fish, uniformed ushers, a full blown marquee, and old-fashioned film frames, each sporting facsimiles of the restored one sheets and lobby cards. Guests decked out in forties-esquire finery had been arriving in a steady stream, escorted up from the first floor lobby by Happy and his team.

Clint looked sharp in his wide lapeled pinstripe suit, along side his wife Laura in a shimmering dress of white silk, with the kids each in child-sized tuxes. Auntie Nat joined them in her own silk gown, a stunning number in black.  

The space was buzzing with anticipation, and it reached its peak when Bucky, dressed in a sleek tux with his hair carefully slicked back in a ponytail, ushered an equally sartorially splendid Steve Rogers. They looked like they’d taken a step back 70 years to the glamorous heydey of Hollywood. Even Happy was in a monkey suit, and if it hadn’t been for the promise of an unknown pair of Disney films, he’d probably be complaining.

The evening held promise and excitement and anticipation.

Tony, resplendent in a perfectly tailored white tux with a black bow tie, took the old fashioned mike and announced the first annual Stark Film Festival was about to begin. He told a short story about the history of film - that it had been pulled from theaters and dear old Dad bartered for copies of the contraband film, how he and the gang had tracked the film stock down and had it curated and restored by Disney archivists. And how the assembled audience was going to be the first audience in 73 years to see this pair of films on the big screen.  

He didn’t mention the titles, the storyline, or why the films had been pulled. He just stepped aside and let the lights dim to nothing as the red velvet curtain was pulled back to reveal a state of the art projection screen.

And then the credits rolled.

&&&

Steve was stunned. He remembered something about signing off on a Disney project, but he’d been too busy fighting a war to worry about it after he’d put his Steve Rogers on the paper. He hadn’t realized they’d planned to make a film about his life as a child, and as a young man. Bucky said he couldn’t remember if he’d signed off on it or not - it wasn’t uncommon for them to get back to base camp and find a bunch of stuff to sign. Some of it was autographs for kids back home, some of it was official reports and stuff. So, it’s possible he’d signed off, too.

After both films were over, Tony and the guys elaborated on their adventures recovering and restoring the film, how they’d kept it quiet so that the films were ready to be seen before Steve knew about them, how Bucky wanted to keep it all quiet until this extraordinary premiere.

When it was all over, Steve leaned over and kissed Bucky on the cheek.

“What was that for?”

“Keeping it all a secret. I probably would’a been too nervous if I’d known about it in advance. But just getting a chance to see it all, and know that Walt had anything to do with it ... just wow.”

Steve’s heart felt like he was 10 again, and it was going to give out on him, but this time it felt funny because it was just so full. He looked around the audience and realized that somehow, he’d ended up with this amazing extended family in this new century, with this beautiful man sitting next to him, a man he could love openly and whole-heartedly. And his friends and his husband had just given him a gift beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

&&&

Bucky smiled, leaned over, and returned the favor. “I wanted to watch them first before you saw them. They’re not perfect, but they were done with the best of intentions. But if they’d treated you with anything less than the respect you deserve, I didn’t want you to be embarrassed by them.”

“Pretty sure I was shorter than the me in the first one.”

“Punk, people mistook you for a garden gnome some days. Might’a had something to do with that not-so-sunny disposition you were always sporting.”

“Laugh it up, asshole. Whaddya think? Should we let them release the films again? Have a proper Hollywood premiere. For charity maybe?”

Watching the films, he could see why his Ma had wanted them pulled. Bucky was very much front and center in the films, maybe not accurately portrayed, but not so far off, really. But with him newly dead, it would’ve been especially painful for Ma and the girls to see the posters plastered all over Brooklyn, to know that the films were playing in the picture house right in their neighborhood. What had been remarkable was Disney’s willingness to pull something they’d sunk a lot of time and money into, something they could probably make their investment back and then some, all because of a mother’s pain.

But seeing his sister’s families enjoying the films, debate and discuss them excitedly made him realize that it was time for the films to be shared again. And a charity sounded like a great idea.

He took Steve’s hand in his, twining their fingers together, and he sat looking at their hands for a long moment, smiling. “Yeah. Let’s do something for the boys and girls who meet their soulmates. In the school yard, on the battlefield, anywhere at all.”

He leaned in and gave Steve a sweet kiss, one in a long line of sweet kisses before and after. Walt might have missed the subtext, but he’d captured the unwavering love between two boys from Brooklyn, and put in on the silver screen. And now they could share it with everyone.

And yes. Bucky got video, which he happily shared in the lead-up to the public premiere.

END

**Author's Note:**

> I might have a thing about long-lost films of the early 20th century. This is the third or fourth I’ve written them into a story, but I think this might be my favorite.
> 
> More to come!


End file.
